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Does better Oil increase horsepower and throttle response?

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2000mitsygt

10+ Year Contributor
56
0
May 5, 2012
barnegat, New_Jersey
Well I recently changed the oil in the 420a. I had 5-30 advanced auto generic oil in it because I was short on cash. Needless to say I put in 5-30 full synthetic pennzoil. I feel an unbelievable difference in the amount of throttle response, power and gas mileage. Also it's much more quiet. Not that it knocked or anything before hand but it just sounds like it running so much better. My question is could oil really help that much or is it in my head? If I change my gear oil to royal purple will the transmission feel better? Any comments or input would be greatly appreciated.
:thumb:
 
Ive noticed similar benefits with better oil as well. Some people think oil is all the same, I disagree.
 
Not sure about it's in the head "thingy" but I also notice a difference when I changed from castro to pennzoil. The car didn't seem so heavy and felt smoother.
Those are excellent words thats exactly what it feels like. I feel like my car motor isn't going to explode sounds like the motor isn't stressing.
I don't know went about 50 miles and so far it was worth the 40 dollars. Now gear oil any suggestions?

Ive noticed similar benefits with better oil as well. Some people think oil is all the same, I disagree.

Yeah, I completely disagree. All oil is not the same but I had no idea the difference It'd make.
 
royal purple makes some of the best stuff but at 8 bucks a bottle you would hope that its not just some plane jane stuff. you are the one who drive your car. if you feel like its working best on your car then keep doing it man. i use royal purple for everything and it makes my car run smooth as silk. (when it runs) but i would highly suggest that you not switch back to traditional oil after running full synthetic because some times after running that smooth it will make it feel like it is getting bogged down.
 
royal purple makes some of the best stuff but at 8 bucks a bottle you would hope that its not just some plane jane stuff. you are the one who drive your car. if you feel like its working best on your car then keep doing it man. i use royal purple for everything and it makes my car run smooth as silk. (when it runs) but i would highly suggest that you not switch back to traditional oil after running full synthetic because some times after running that smooth it will make it feel like it is getting bogged down.

Yeah it was 30 buck on sale. I paid an extra 15 bucks for bigger oil filter and full synthetic Pennzoil. I think I'm going to put in royal purple gear oil in. It can only help I heard royal purple gear oil is top notch.
 
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Most of the time it is placebo but when I switched to royal purple or even AMSOIL I noticed a difference in how fast the motor revved. I was running WalMart special shit and went to AMSOIL 5-30 and I literally stalled the car the first time I drove it because it was that different. I don't care what anyone says, high quality motor oil makes a difference.
 
So in your opinion what brand and oil should I get?

Royal Purple also makes synthetic ATF. As far as the OP question goes: Yes, better quality oil has been proven to show better numbers on a dyno. It does not; however, create horsepower, it only frees up horsepower the engine is already making. You will also not be able to feel the difference at all. You will see slightly better economy as a result, but you more than likely wouldn't even notice a difference in your ETs or trap speeds.
 
Honestly I've said this to countless people and I'll post it here. If it has the API (American Petroleum Institute) sunburst logo on it, then you can use it reliably and expect it to do within reason what any oil should do.
I ran royal purple in my Pontiac a few years ago, and after 3000 miles the oil had broken down to literally the consistency of water. I have never bought it again, and never will. My ex went to Wyotech and they had different vendors like Royal purple and Mobil 1 come in and try to peddle their crap on the students there and the instructor always told the class after the vendors had left to not listen to basically anything they said. I personally run the $2.99 a quart Oreily or Autozone store brand 10w-30 myself with no problems.
If I had to be a name dropper and go out of my way to recommend a brand it'd have to be Amsoil hands down.
 
I know since forced performances oil tests, and on the recommendation of my local enthusiasts, Ive run Brad Penn 20-50 all season and VR1 in the winter since its more availible by me and costs less to use as a start every once and a while oil. I thought at first I noticed improvements, but I think it was just me thinking about how happy all my bearings were. I dont really buy into the RP oil increases HP, but it is still good stuff, no doubt about that.

Edit: Brad Penn and VR1 (and others) have high mineral content and lack detergents, among other slight differences. They can damage catalytic converters. Just wanted to add that.
 
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Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 is always a great option. Comparable zinc levels to some "race" oils and plenty of detergents. Only a few bucks more than mobile 1 at Wal-Mart as well!

As for power gains, it's in your head. Unless you have some nasty sludge the detergents managed to break down and free up some substantial rotational weight, nothing's changed.
 
I can see this becoming one of those ten page useless, beat to death "this oil is better than this" threads.
 
That's kind of why I mentioned the API logo and stuff. Different oils are formulated with different things in mind but they have to meet a certain standard to be sold at all for motor vehicles. Basically anything on the shelf should be fine for an old 1g or hell even 2gs are getting on in age too. I'm the kind of guy that runs whatever is on sale in the 5 quart jug when it comes oil change time and I don't think I've ever noticed any difference in the way my car runs. The absolute only exception to that being that lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer stuff did shut my lifters up substantially faster on cold starts compared to running the regular 10w30 alone. Also noticed a few PSI in oil pressure increase when running it but that's probably due only to it's viscosity.
 
Realistically, fresh oil/gear oil will always be better than the broken down stuff you have in there. You found a motor oil you like, Id stick with it, as everyone has their "best" oil preference.

For the gear oil, as long as it is the right type for your trans/diff, whatever, your good to go. Amsoil makes a quality product and you wont be dissappointed if you go that route.:thumb:
 
I'm interested in running that 0w-30 Mobil 1 oil that seems new. It says it meets specs for 5w-30 oils but will create less drag and help mileage some.
 
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